Gyakushû! Satsujin ken / The Street Fighter's Last Revenge (1974) - It's better to burn out than fade away - 9/10 (22/06/19)

The Street Fighter's Last Revenge is the third and last installment in the series around vicious hitman and karate fighter Tsurugi Takuma. This movie is also the best in the series and one would have liked to see more films in the franchise. This last film combines the strengths of the great first movie such as diversified settings, vicious fight scenes and interesting characters and adds an interesting plot with numerous twists and turns until the very end. In order to fully appreciate this film, you should watch the Japanese version because the American version has cut some fight scenes and changed parts of the plot for no reason whatsoever.

The story revolves around a Yakuza clan associated with a ruthless company that blackmails and bribes politicians. Tsurugi Takuma steals an important tape that proves this scheme and blackmails the Yakuza clan himself. The main character needs to fight an overtly motivated Taiwanese fighter who quickly changes sides to support him, a determined prosecutor who initially wants to expose the criminals but then decides to betray them and get rich and a seductive woman associated to the Yakuza who tries to murder the main character and the prosecutor on numerous occasions.

The fight scenes are even more interesting than in the previous installments because Tsurugi Takuma faces an opponent who is even stronger than him and needs to learn about his background and fight techniques to clear his mind and win the deadly final duel. The characters are even more interesting than in the two predecessors and especially the diversified prosecutor and the deadly femme fatale are particularly intriguing and make the viewers care about their fates. The settings are diversified as the fights take place on a fairground, in a crematorium and at a marina on a particularly rainy night. The story offers numerous at times surprising twists and turns that keep viewers on the edge of their seats until the very end.

The Street Fighter's Last Revenge is among the very best contemporary martial arts films ever made and a very positive surprise after the lackluster second installment in the series. This movie deserves more attention and recognition. Even if you haven't watched the first two films in the series, you should watch this one if you are a genre fan. It's regrettable that the series didn't continue but one has to admit that it ended on a very high note.